Where is Dan Nassif Now?

Saturday, November 12th, 2011 by Nadia

Dan Nassif finished at 9th place at the WSOP finals held in 2006. Nassif, at the time, was 33 and working as an account executive in St. Louis. He was the short stack at the 2006 final table after his pocket Kings were trumped by Michael Binger’s pocket Queens. After that, Nassif’s game was virtually dead. He was unable to move forward and make a comeback. He ended up leaving the tournament with $1,566,858. It was an impressive payout for someone who entered the main event after winning a PokerStars satellite tournament.

Post the finals, Nassif has not featured much on the poker circuit. His only cash win since 2006 was in April 2011 at the WSOP Harrah at St. Louis. He finished at 25th place at the No-Limit Hold’em event where the buy-in was $345 and the pot was worth $1,260.

Career since WSOP Finals 2006

Nassif said that he has gotten into the field of medical sales recently. He was initially in advertising, working with a local newspaper. In 2008, he invested in and opened a restaurant. After that venture, he went into medical sales. He said that he mostly played only online poker, which he stopped after Black Friday.

Dan participated in the WSOP circuit event that was held in Tunica in 2007. He made it to the second day of play and was eliminated at 66th place. He also participated in the main event conducted in 2007. In 2010, Nassif participated in the WSOP circuit event which took place in St. Louis. He was eliminated at 25th place. Nassif said that he didn’t have time to play poker because he was working. He hasn’t considered taking up poker professionally.

His Road to the WSOP Finals in 2006

Dan Nassif’s entry into the main event in 2006 was due to his win at the PokerStars satellite tournament. He began playing online poker in 2004. Nassif started playing at PokerStars in 2005. He participated in the double shootout satellite tournaments. Dan also won $80,000 in a heads-up tournament.

After he was eliminated early in the tournament in 2005, Nassif had to change his game plan to succeed in 2006. He wasn’t worried about the outcome of the game. He was willing to go in thinking of it as a fun vacation from work and he took it one day at a time. Dan said that previously, he had tried to win all the events on the first day of play. In 2006 he decided to be cautious and approach the game on a day-by-day basis.

Life Changes after the Final Table

According to Nassif, once he got back from the tournament, things were a little different for a few months. He received calls from friends and old girl friends he had lost contact with previously. He was also featured on TV and in the newspaper, which was a new experience. He had a few fun encounters with people who recognized him and sometimes got a free drink out of it.

He used his $1.5 million in winnings to pay off his mortgage. Dan said that he invested the majority of the sum in the stock market. He stated that he still has many investments in the stock market and other than that, has not splurge on anything.